Our Sweet Boy

I get so behind and there is so much to write! You know how it is with babies. For the longest time he didn't do much. You know, he was cute and he nursed and every few weeks he would learn some new trick. Well, Now he seems to do something new every day! Sometimes it's hard to keep Tom abreast of all the changes. I do feel so bad for Tom because Connor loves him immensely and Tom is missing so much.

Currently, Connor is 7 months old and wearing 12 month sizes. He weighed 19lbs 12ozs when he had his flu shot on the 29th. He got his 1st tooth on 12/21/09 (LL central) and his 2nd on 12/29 (LR Central - Happy Birthday to both of us!)

He is an old pro at sitting up now and has finally figured out how to roll from back to Belly. Of course this means he does it in his sleep and he still doesn't like it once he gets onto his belly and so he cries for me to come and rescue him. His latest nickname is Hans (because it's classier then Hands) because he is lightening quick and GRABBY! For the most part he is an exceptional eater. He Can do a sippy cup by himself (though I still help him tip it back far enough). He has no problem getting his own toys, he'll pull out the bins of his toy box and grab what he likes. If I'm Eeyore, then he's Tigger - because he loves to bounce bounce bounce! He loves shopping (people watching.) He hates long car rides (He's had to many in his short life.) He can hold himself on his hands and knees, but isn't sure what to do once he's there. He loves to screech (another nickname) and says mamama, Dada, baba... the usual. He says yard work is BORING and chilly. He loves to walk around while holding your hands. He likes his refrigerator magnets. He thinks the shower sprayer is pretty funny when we rinse him off at night. He most definitely has a bedtime routine and he falls asleep pretty quickly most nights. He loves the dogs and Hattie loves him (even more so now that he eats food - she has stolen a green beans from him and same was trolling for avocado chunks the other night.)

He has also eaten quite an array of foods. He's even had my "Poop Soup" (so named because its got all the good stuff to aid flatuation) ground up for dinner one night. He hasn't shown any sings of reactions yet - Yeah!!! Kiwi, Apple, Cucumber, ham, turkey, chicken, spinach, sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, green pepper, prunes, pears, blueberries, avocado, peas, squash, banana, apricots, peaches, beef, whipped cream (I couldn't help it... I caved), and brussel sprouts are just a few of the foods he's tried.

Look! No Mommy Hands!

That's right folks! He didn't do it for long, maybe 25 or 30 seconds, but he sat all by himself!

Drooly, isn't he! Mmmmmmm fingers!

Connor is showing more and more interest in the dogs each day, and Hattie and Sam are more sensitive to him being around, too. Kobe really could care less. He really tries to ignore Connor, even repeatedly walking in front of the stroller when we're out. Even Sam stays to the side of the stroller. Sam is to shifty to sit there and come close so Connor can touch him, but they both try. Hattie has to follow me around and go with me to check on Connor. There are some pictures of her babysitting on the Flickr page. I catch her trying to sneak kisses all the time.

Now THAT'S Entertainment!

Recently I wrote that Connor is rather stingy when it comes to laughs. He will give you plenty of big open mouth grins with his tongue tucked against the roof of his mouth. He'll laugh a little bit when you nibble his belly, but it's almost as though he isn't sure what a laugh is, like maybe it's wrong and he shouldn't do it. Well Mommy found a way to make Connor laugh.

I was doing a little housecleaning and the last several times I've vacuumed the back end has fallen off my canister vacuum. I finally got fed up and while Connor was in his Jolly Jumper in his bedroom doorway, I decided to cover the finer points of duct tape with him. I grabbed the roll and yanked off a strip, not thinking about the funky noise duct tape makes. Well considering the coffee grinder makes him cry Iexpected to look up and see a pouty lip and tears. OH NO! Connor seems to think there is nothing funnier then the sound of duct tape coming off the roll. There were giggles and squeals and out and out laughs. He laughed so hard he got hiccups!

For his 3 month birthday, I had gotten out all of his bath toys and decorated the big bath tub in our master bath. It was time for him to graduate from the baby tub I'd been given. He was out growing it lengthwise and he was soaking the kitchen every night with all of his splashing. Then on Sept 12th he got his own bedroom upstairs (1 year and a day since my first positive pregnancy test). The next logical step was getting him out of our bathroom and completely moved upstairs. So that was his 4 month birthday present. Connor got his own bathroom upstairs. He seems to like having the standard size tub. It will be really nice when he can sit up, but for now he likes sitting in his bath chair and putting his feet up on the side wall of the tub. Clever little monkey!

17 Pounds!

That's right folks! I weighed Connor the other day and he weighed 17 lbs! That means he has gained over 7 lbs in less then 4 months. He lost most of a pound the first week he was home. So he has gained back his deficit and then some. He is currently on the edge of outgrowing his 6-9 month sleepers. Don't misunderstand me. He's a big boy, but he isn't fat. He is very long. several of his cloths have plenty of room in the body, but they are just to short in the leg or the torso.

Yesterday I was going through the mail and there was a big festive envelope from the Disney movie club. Connor was being a little fussy, so I said "Here! Look! Mail for you!" and gave him the envelope and continued looking at the rest of the mail. Tom came walking over and I said absently "look, Tom, Connor got mail..." Tom said "Uhhhh, Jenn?" and took the envelope from Connor. The Ink on the front of the envelope was water soluble and his mouth, chin, tongue, cheeks, even the tip of his nose were all smeared in black. A baby wipe took it right off and I didn't get a picture, but Connor was thoroughly pleased with himself.

Some More About Connor

I've had friends do this and I have been wanting to post this for a while. We always get the question "who does he look like?" Well judge for yourself! This is Tom, Connor and Me. I know my vote! This isn't the best (or clearest!) photo of Connor, but I saw it and it reminded me of this photo of myself. To be fair I went and found one where he is in a similar position to Tom's baby photo.

I forgot to mention in my last post that Connor has already received his first international postcard (Thanks Jonathan & Ridley!) He has also had his first sets of bug bites (there are very persistent) on walks. He has been to the beach. He has been to the South Carolina Aquarium. He has gone swimming at a public pool.

We have also become frequent shoppers at a nearby kids consignment store called Once Upon a Child. I received his baby bathtub from my coworker Brittany and an Eddie Bauer play yard (and various other small gifts) from our neighbor Nancy and last week we were given a Baby bike seat from our other neighbor Ricky. We've been very lucky to get many items used. Even Connor's crib came all the way from California, it was used for all three of his Person Family cousins when they were little. The consignment shop has had some really nice deals on items I wanted and though they are used, they are by no means worn out. We got Connor a Bumbo w/tray for $20, a bath seat (looks like a little lawn chair) for $3.50, an Ultrasaucer for $25, a rocking worm (like a horse, but it's a worm) for $15 as well as various clothing for $1-3 each. It's great! We have started going there first when we want an item to see if they have one, then if they don't we go and get it new. They only thing that this hasn't worked for was our baby monitor which we bought at Target.

Our Little Man

Here we are, Connor is almost 4 months old and I haven't had a chance to update Connor's blog. I only just wrote about his birth!

First off he is fantastic and the absolute joy of my day (even if he doesn't nap so well.) All about Connor. Where to start. He absolutely loves his baths. He must have one every night and he gets all excited and starts banging his heels on the floor. He has already had dual ear infections with a ruptured right eardrum. He likes swimming in a pool even if it is colder then the bathtub (he likes that really warm). He has rolled from his belly to his back twice (but it was mostly an accident). He is only now warming up to tummy time. His nickname is booby boy, but I also call him Sugar because he's so dang sweet. He has the greatest smile. He clicks his tongue when he grins really big. He has just started blowing raspberries. He has been standing and pulling up with very little support from us for quite a while now. I think he's getting ready to cut his first tooth. He likes books and has helped to turn the pages. He likes the comics. He is very interested in the remote control and the portable phone. He is a tator tot and will actually cran his neck to watch TV when I'm changing his diaper (NO I don't use it as the electronic babysitter - usually it's just the local weather channel or toddler tunes) He has already been on his fist canoe ride (wasn't a huge hit but daddy is hoping he'll grow into it). He's had rice cereal but doesn't seem in love with it, so I've put that on the back burner for now. He gives smiles freely and frequently, but he is only now starting to laugh. He has wiggled his body 360 degrees around his play mat. Connor has also made the drive from Charleston to East Tennesse and from Tennesse to Massachusetts (20 hours!) and back again.

He is the gassiest baby you've ever met! I've actually had to defend myself because people thought it was me breaking wind - there is no hiding it when Connor is filling his diaper. He used to make the cutest face when he pood. He would crack me up so bad. I used to tell him to enjoy it now, no girl was ever going to find his bowel movements that funny again.He belches really loud, too! I told him he's a reincarnated Frat Boy. He farts and burps, shows a big interest in pizza and he's all about the boobs.

Connor slept in our bedroom from the day he came home until September 12th. It killed me to put him in his own room, but I think he is sleeping better (especially when Tom is on call) and I know Tom is. He doesn't really cry in the morning to tell you he's up, he more lays there getting louder and louder and sounding more and more urgent until you get to his crib and when he sees you he gives you a great big grin like "Oh good, you're up! Me too!" I've seen him roll from his side to his back and vice versa while sleeping. Several times I'll get up to get him and he has worked his way sideways across his crib.

He's Here!!!

Well, Connor finally decided to make an appearance and we didn't need an induction after all!
We had the Induction scheduled for Friday evening but I went into labor on my own sometime Thursday. I can't honestly say when it all started. Pretty much all day I thought I was just having bowel trouble. I was crampy and gassy and my lower back was really uncomfortable. Sometime around 6pm I took a shower and then laid on the bed and called Tom, looking for some sort of advice. It wasn't really until after 9pm that I noticed the cramps were fairly regular. I've had so many "Is this it's!?!" that I didn't get to excited. I just waited a while to see what would happen.
Of course Tom was supposed to be on call on Friday, but switched it to Thursday so he could be with me for the induction. So just as I'm getting ready for bed around 1am, he gets a page and has to go back to the hospital and he isn't sure if he's coming home. He might just stay there and work through his shift the next day. He wanted to know why I was laughing while I was brushing my teeth. I thought it was pretty funny that I was pretty sure I was finally in labor and he had to leave. He just smiled and looked sceptical, gave me a kiss and told me to call if I needed him. Off he goes.
So I laid down and the contractions were pretty regular and uncomfortable but I tried to get some sleep. I only slept for an hour and a half before I couldn't really sleep through them anymore. I would doze in between and then wake up and check the clock when they came. Sometime around 3am I called Tom and told him they were pretty frequent and regular and he of course asked me to start timing them. Then I called my mom and told her that I didn't think she and Lisa should wait until 10am to start the 6+ hour trip. I timed the contractions for about 45 minutes to make sure I had an average for Tom and then called him back to let him know they 3.5-4.5 minutes apart. He told me he would have to call me back when he figured out if he was scrubbing on the morning case!?! So I laid in bed a bit longer and then around 6am I got up and let the dogs out and sat on my exercise ball, which oddly, started slowing things down.
Tom didn't scrub in, he was told to go home and home he came. I walked around, took a shower, packed (I had most everything ready to go in the suitcase) and finished up a few chores around the house. Since I had been scheduled for induction I had been cleaning for the last few days anyway. Around 10am I had Tom call and ask if I should head in. They were about every 2.5-3.5 minutes by then and riding in the car made them every 2 minutes apart. They nice thing was they were really evenly spaced, so I could really rest and then look at the watch and know to relax and be ready for the next one before it started.
When we got to the hospital, Tom unloaded me in the lobby and went to park. Of course I got numerous offers to be taken to L&D and would I like a wheelchair (I don't really think I looked as though I was going to drop him in the lobby, I was very calm) but I waited for Tom. When we were on our way to L&D and I got a contraction, I just stopped and squatted and breathed through it and we moved on. I had several contractions at the nurses station waiting for my bed. Then they got me a room and hooked me up to the monitors and checked me. 7CM! YEAH! I WAS SO PROUD! They hooked up my antibiotics and left me to do my thing. At this point I was still proclaiming my broken arm and the time I had Pleurisy to be more painful. I walked, I squatted, I breathed. Two hours later I was 8.5cm. A couple hours later I was 9+CM but my water was still intact and Mom, Lisa & Amanda had just gotten their. So they broke my water.
Now the pain was bad. The minute they broke my water I began to have excruciating back labor, that was continuous. There were no short rests and there was no getting any position that offered any relief, and my labor stalled. They checked me over and over and it was always the same. A couple hours later (after proclaiming I was dying and being told by the attending that "they hadn't lost anyone all week" to which I told him I would have laughed if I wasn't so sure I was dying) I finally asked for the epidural. Then the anesthesiologist disappeared. I swear she had to go make a fresh batch. Then she wouldn't do it until I signed a paper. I was so drained I was begging Tom to sign it.
Once I had the epidural they plugged in the pitocin. AND NOTHING HAPPENED. We waited that way for hours. We had to play with the epidural because my left side wasn't numb and then we pushed the button to much and my right side got so numb I couldn't move my leg. Finally around 11pm I reached down felt the head and told the nurse that I wanted to get this show on the road.
There was pushing and pulling and mineral oil and lots of "stop moving the mirror!" At 11:54 I looked at the clock and decided it was up to me if Connor was going to be born on the 29th or the 30th. So I pushed for all I was worth. But it was all worth it when I looked down and saw his head and the moment I watched Connor slide from my body. With Tom gowned up to help catch him and my sister holding my hand and supporting my back, my mom taking pictures and Amanda watching wide eyed from the corner Connor made his way into the world at 11:56pm. I got to cut the cord and everybody got to hold him and then because he was 10lbs they insisted he go to the nursery for 4 hours to have his blood sugar monitored. But he was/is just fantastic! We stayed in the hospital Saturday and then headed home about 2pm on Sunday.

Um...Still Waiting

So now we are 5 days past our due date and still no baby. (sigh) I was annoyed last week when I had to make another appointment but I'm not sure if I was more annoyed or disappointed today when I had to keep it. Peanut is just very happy and doesn't want to come out. Well... TO BAD! Peanut now has an appointment to be evicted!

During my appointment today everything looked really good, Peanuts heartbeat was very good, Dr. Dempsey did another ultrasound and the amniotic fluid levels were still good, the baby is still head down. I'm still 1.5cm dilated, but she did say it seemed as though my cervix was shorter. I did have Dr. Dempsey strip my membranes today, which basically separates the bag of waters from the cervix. It made me a little crampy, but I was already a little crampy. Then we scheduled an appointment for 6pm Friday to start my induction. We have to wait for the 41 week mark to give my body plenty of time to make "it" happen (which is Friday.) The current plan is that they will admit me Friday and start working on my cervix. Once that is ready they'll start the Pitocin and probably sometime Saturday, we'll have a baby.

I'm disappointed with having an induction, but I'm also worried about the size of the baby if we wait. So, I do feel like I've given Peanut a fair shake at making this happen at his/her own pace. I also keep hearing the warning from our birthing class, the more interventions you have the more interventions you need. We'll see...Stay tuned!

Still Waiting...

Well here we are! One day past our due date and no end in sight. Peanut has asked for college catalogs and is picking out furniture. It was really funny when I was going through the line at Bi-Lo yesterday and the checker asked me "Ohhhh When are you due?" The look on her face when I said "Today." was pretty funny. Then she asked if we were having a little girl. I gave her my standard "No, we're having a Surprise!" It seems Peanut has more surprises in store then I bargained for. I think everyone was pretty sure I was going to have Nutter Butter early. Surprise! Nutter is already like Mommy and Daddy (a day late...)

The one nice thing about being late is that Tom and I did get to keep our anniversary dinner reservations last night at Peninsula Grill. It was great to have one last chance to get out, just the two of us, for one last REALLY NICE dinner. When I got home with the groceries and it was time to start getting ready for dinner I started having contractions and pressure in my belly. I took this time to tell Nutter that this was unacceptable. If Nutter has made us wait this long, It could wait a few more hours before deciding it was time. Tom thought me pointing at my VERY PREGNANT belly and having a strongly worded conversation was pretty cute. Eight years later and I can still make him laugh!

What Makes Me Proud

Well, I've been sleeping a lot lately. Sometimes that means I don't sleep so well at night. So while I was laying there last night, I was thinking back on my pregnancy and thinking of the things that make me proud.

- I'm pleased that I was frugal and didn't go overboard on my maternity cloths purchases.
- I'm pleased that we haven't gone overboard on baby purchases. We have kept the nursery purchases very reasonable and gender neutral so that they will work for "Little Person 2." (sometime down the road)
- Though I gained more weight then I was supposed to, It was still a reasonable amount.
- I'm proud that we decided to wait to find out weather we're having a boy or a girl and that we have stuck to that, even at this point.
- I'm proud that, despite his work schedule, Tom and I have managed to grow closer and happier with each other as a couple, family, and soon-to-be parents over the past several months. He has never once complained about the trips to Babies R Us, or my crying when I feel overwhelmed.
- I'm proud that, though I could have been more active, I have kept up on keeping the house and yard neat. Even doing yard work as late as week 38, and if the baby doesn't arrive soon, maybe week 40, too!
-I haven't been perfect about my eating habits, but for the most part, I think I've kept it pretty healthy and reasonable. (Plenty of cut strawberries on my low fat ice cream.)
- I'm proud that (except for taking them off at night while I sleep and for the few days we were in humid Florida) I've been able to wear my rings every day of my pregnancy.
- Lastly, I'm very happy my inny never became an outy!

Nothing to Report...Again

I still like being pregnant, for the most part. To say I'm getting a bit antsy to meet our Little Nutter Butter (no I have not been eating Nutter Butters, but the nickname Peanut has evolved) would be an understatement to say the least.

We had another appointment today and I thought for sure there would be some encouraging news this time. I did loose 4lbs from last week (THANK GOD!) and they say that can be a sign. I also went from 1cm to 1.5cm (woo-hoo, ho-hum) but there wasn't anything more then that said. Dr. Dempsey apparently has a thing for stripping membranes because she's been trying to get me to do it. She asked again this week. Tempted though I was, I did decline. So off I went to make another appointment with the "if you make it back for your appointment next week you'll be 40w5d and we'll have to talk about inducing you" hanging over my head. I was a little disappointed.

I really thought today was going to be the day. I started getting some regular contractions last night at about 4:50. I waited until after 6 to say anything to Tom and then put Mom and Lisa on Red Alert (I'm not saying get in the car, I'm just saying pack a bag and take a nap!) The contractions were there, but not painful. I cleaned the house and did laundry, took a shower, and shaved my legs. After my shower it felt like things were ramping up and when I laid down after 1am to try and get some sleep I REALLY felt like something was starting to happen. The contractions were feeling stronger and I was having some strong discomfort. I even woke Tom to ask if he thought we should call Mom and Lisa again to get them on the road. This was about 2:30 and he thought we should give it until 5am. So I rolled over, snuggled up against him and managed to fall asleep. Then everything quieted down. I'm still having contractions, most of them don't hurt except that my muscles are just sore from all the tensing.

So, today turned out not to be the day...Bummer. I've been aiming for an even numbered day or divisible by 5 (I'm strange... move on) and today would have been both. I'm beginning to wonder if the baby really is just holding out to sabotage my Anniversary dinner on Friday.

1 cm!

Well, sadly, though I did have a quick ultrasound today, I didn't get any new pictures to share. It was a super quick scan just to say "Yup! The head's down!" and that was it. My belly was measuring right on and Peanut's heartbeat sounded great - really strong today! I also had an exam and I am 1 cm dilated - not very much effaced, but we do have some progress. I'm trying not to get to excited, because women walk around dilated for weeks before the big day. 1 cm really doesn't mean anything is happening anytime soon. It's still wait and see at this point. Though while I was laying there today I realized that I have been having a lot of contractions since this past weekend.

Tom has been sort of worried about when I'm going to go into labor, because he has some really busy days at work in the next few weeks. So I wasn't expecting a very positive response from him, but he actually sounded really excited.

Dr. Dempsy said that if Tom and I were interested we could talk about stripping my membranes next week to get things moving along. Tom has a golden weekend (no call) May 22-24, so it would give him some time with the baby. I'm not sure that is a good enough reason to artificially start labor - I kind of wanted to let the baby pick it's own day. My last day of work isn't officially until the 15th as well. We'll have to talk about it=) Tom's bet is May 12th. Does anyone have any other guesses?

Nesting?

(Both of these pictures were taken this morning, I couldn't remember what color cami I was supposed to wear, so we did both. I think you can see the blue better.)

Well, I have been quite delinquent in posting, but I'm sure you an all understand how busy we've been. The carpets are finally cleaned, and the crib is finally set up, and made. (Please, no emails about the bumper and the stuffed animals in the crib! I've read all the warnings and I will take out the stuffed animals before the baby goes in. It just looked really lonely in there.) The baby's bag is packed and ready for the hospital. Mine is in the bedroom and I'm adding stuff to it daily. We still need to hang the bookshelf in the bedroom and hang the diaper dangler - it's mostly small stuff left. At this point I have the house pretty squared away, so that hopefully it'll just be upkeep later on (ha ha - I know.)

I'm felling pretty well. At this point it's my ribs and chest that hurt. Tom did a quick little ultrasound on me tonight and Peanut is definitely head down and I would say pretty low in my pelvis, but I'll find out what Dr. Dempsey has to say on Wednesday. She'll be doing a scan to check the baby's position. Hopefully I'll come home from that next appointment with some new pictures to post. Everything has been really uneventful. I was talking with Tom today and I told him I really need to stop this. I keep waking up and wondering - is today the day? I fixate on every little twinge and tightening I feel - is this it? Is it starting? I need to just go about my days like any other day and enjoy the free time I have left. I may not know what I'm looking for, but I'm sure it will become pretty apparent when it happens. In the meantime, there is still stuff to do, and I need to concentrate on that while I can.

My last two appointments with Dr. Dempsey were uneventful. We talked about me birth plan at one appointment, but mostly they just consisted of checking the heartbeat, measuring my belly, the usual. Maybe this week she'll check to see if anything is happening. I'm still happy being pregnant, but I am getting antsy to see the baby and find out what we are having. I have days where I'm not worried about the birth (more resigned, it is coming, it will happen, I will get through it) and other days when I really worry about it - the whole "unknown" thing.

Along those lines, Tom and I had birthing class all day on Saturday at MUSC. It was pretty good, we learned some stuff, watched a whole bunch of videos, and didn't have nearly as much breathing and coping practice as I had hoped. We got a tour or the labor and delivery department and the postpartum department. I think Tom is going to be a really good coach as long as he doesn't get to sensitive on me. As we were getting ready to leave, we thanked the instructor and she smiled and cryptically said "We'll be seeing you soon." It was directed at me since I was the farthest along in the class.

Friday, I got my first Mother's Day Card from Molly & Bill, and Sunday Tom bought me a backyard bird identification book for my first Mother's Day Gift.

April Showers

At work today I had a Baby Shower lunch! It was so sweet! I got two very generous gifts from both the girls that I work with (Marge, Brittany, and Lori) and Dr. Zetz and his girlfriend, Tara.

A Busy Few Weeks

The last few weeks have been very busy. Tom was on vacation from March 23-29. Poor Guy! I said I wasn't going to work him hard. We couldn't Leave town because I couldn't get out of working that Thursday. So I said you know, we'll do a project a day and then go do something fun. Well, we did do a few things fun, but mostly we ended up working in the yard EVERY DAY! I can't even begin to count the bags of mulch we bought and spread! All in All I felt really good the whole time. I kept up and lifted and poured and spread right along side Tom.

Then on the 28th I headed to Tennessee and then on to North Adams to spend Spring Break (Colby and Amanda's) at my Grandma Beighley's house with my mom. She isn't really doing well anymore and spends all day in her chair. So we spent the week cleaning and cooking and visiting, spending as much time with her as we could. I really noticed toward the end of the week that my ankles (particularly the right) and fingers were swollen most of the time and my hips are really starting to hurt. I was more tired then usual, too.

On Friday, April 3rd, I had some Braxton-Hicks while I was cleaning off Gram's hutch. Then later that night I felt the baby having hiccups for the first time. My sister Lisa got to feel it, too. She is pretty convinced the baby hates her already. She says Peanut never moves for her. Mom and I tried to tell her it was just that she wasn't around at the right time. Peanut seems to be a night owl and shows off a lot between 10pm and midnight. Though I noticed more movement earlier today and another bought of hiccups.

Then on Saturday, I got a wonderful surprise! Lisa got together with my Aunt Maria, my cousin Roberta, and her friends Jane and Marcia and they had organized a baby shower for me! I was so surprised and touched! I had wanted a baby shower, but I figured I had been away from home so long, there wasn't really a chance it would happen. A lot of people haven't seen me since my wedding! Yet here they were! They all turned out to shower Peanut with presents. It was so nice to know everyone cared so much! (I"ll post pictures as soon as I get them off my camera!)
They had one whole room decorated with pink and blue balloons and then Lisa tacked a whole bunch of the baby cloths she had bought to the walls. I got a lot of flack for not knowing what we're having, but it doesn't seem to have hindered people from buying Peanut cloths! I think we have enough gender neutral clothing to get us started for the next baby, too! It was all so cute and Tom and I are so very grateful for everyone's generosity!

I got home on Monday, after two long days of driving. Today was spent out in the yard. I looked as if it hadn't even been mowed yet this year! Then I had to get all of the yard debris to the curb. I edged the lawn and swept off the deck. I was only out for about 2 hours, but man I was BEAT afterwards! What a difference a week makes!

My sister swears I dropped this past week and I have been having some crampy feelings here and there. I was so sure I was going to make it to my due date, but now I just don't know. We have another appointment tomorrow, so we will see what Dr. Dempsy says!

Oh, and my final indignity? Tom was laughing at me today because I was having trouble bending over to tie my shoes! (sigh)

In The Single Digits Again!

Well here we are again at nine weeks, only this time instead of it being nine weeks along, we are at nine weeks to go! YEAH! It seemed as though everything was moving so slowly in the beginning, but now, just like a snowball rolling downhill, time is passing faster and faster!

We had an appointment with Dr. Dempsey on Monday the 16th. Everything was looking still looking good and moving on track and I was complimented on my ability to sit up unassisted. I was doing kick counts pretty regularly for the first couple weeks of March, however most days I can tell that the baby is moving frequently and vigorously and I don't need to lie down and count. Honestly, if I lay down to do kick counts after work, I'd probably fall asleep before I reached 10 - and that normally doesn't take more then 15 minutes.

Last night we were over at our friend Sidsel and Max's house for dinner and board games and I kept getting frustrated that I couldn't reach to give Max cards across the table. I jokingly looked at my belly to say "Would you move your head!" and then when I placed my hand there, there was a definite "solid mass" that I would describe as head-like. I had Tom and Sidsel feel and the concurred. I was very excited since it's the first time I can really say I identified a baby body part.

Just now as I was writing this, I asked Tom for his opinion and we were feeling right below my rib cage and trying to play "guess that body part" and we got some wiggles in return. I said " Look, Tom! We've gone interactive! Poke us and we move!"

11 weeks to go!

So, here are some new pictures (pink top is a "then" picture - 12 weeks - and the blue tops were all this weekend) I also included one of me in some of my maternity attire.

Our last Doctors appointment was on March 2 and everything looked good. Peanut played hide and seek with Dr. Dempsy while she was looking for the heartbeat (There it is - ut, never mind) and we are measuring at 29cm (uterus size) which is good since it should correspond with the # of weeks pregnant you are. There really wasn't much more to it then that. Well there was her usual response to my questions of "I've never heard that, but let me ask my colleges." All I did was mention that in the past some of my pregnant friends have taken fluoride supplements (Portland was unfluoridated) while pregnant and should I be taking them as well since, yes the water is fluoridated in Charleston, but I'm drinking it filtered from the fridge. I think my Granola ways are just to much for unenlightened Charleston. I'm afraid to even ask her about public cord blood donation at our next appointment. That question might make her hard drive crash!

We have started doing kick counts now and so far Peanut is an overachiever. We need to have 10 kicks in an hour, but usually we hit 10 in about 15 minutes. I probably wouldn't even need to lay down and count if my car was smoother. Lately I've had a lot of activity when I'm driving, maybe just because I'm sitting down.

I know this is going to come back and bite me, but I would sort of love to be pregnant forever. Don't get me wrong, I want to see Peanut. I want to hold Peanut. But my skin has never behaved better! Right now I'm not at the "So huge I can't stand myself stage" I'm getting up to Pee to much during the night, and I must say I love feeling the kicks and flutters!

Rumblings From the Belly

Well, things are definitely moving along on the Belly front. Tom has been able to sit and watch the baby kick and the bouts of movement from Peanut are certainly more frequent and vigorous. I'm having more and more trouble with my wedding rings not fitting. However, thanks to GAP Maternity I FINALLY have maternity pants that fit. I was really about to give up and go to Sears and just buy some men's overalls. Even my plans to just make Levi's fit had failed! It was kind of hairy for a few weeks when I was wearing Tom's pants. Three pairs of jeans just aren't enough when you have two people wearing them.

24 Week Visit

We had an easy visit with Dr. Dempsy today. We listened to Peanut's heartbeat which was great and my belly was in the right proportions according to the tape measure. According to their weight history on me I've gained 12lbs (which of course started at week 10, not week 0 like mine did) so we were happy with that. I also had my Glucose tolerance test which came back fine (my level was 104 at 1 hour and anything below 140 is normal) and I was checked for Anemia and that was fine as well. So far so good!

The Bump

I know I haven't been as good about updating my "Bump" photos as I should, but I have been trying to be better. I've done two Saturday's in a row now! Last Saturday's isn't up though, I couldn't face it. Today I was feeling good, though. I got up, weighed myself, and the scale was cooperating. I know I'm going to put on weight, I'm not being delusional. However, for someone who has worried about their weight everyday, and struggled with it for years, it's hard to sit back and watch it pile on. I'm trying to be good and reasonable in what I eat and I would really love to stay in my weight gain range. So when I stepped on this morning and it was a solid 10lbs (exactly) since I got pregnant, that felt good. Not bad for almost 6 months. I went out and took my picture and here it is!

My other fun today - I got to WATCH my belly move! I was sitting on the couch with my feet up and the baby really started rolling and kicking. I could sort of see it, but my breathing was camouflaging part of it. I set the remote on my belly and WOW could you see it! It almost got kicked off a few times. That was so much fun!

Oh! I finally ordered some maternity pants last night. It's overdue, really. I haven't been able to zip up my Levi's for a few weeks now. I can zip them about an inch or so as long as I'm up and walking around, but the minute I sit or try to tie my sneakers while wearing my jeans, you start hearing the zipper give way. Yoga pants are good, Yoga pants are my friend (and my scrub bottoms, too.)